The Bookstore – A Danisnotonfire One Shot
(Reader’s POV)
Walking into Chester’s Books, the local
bookstore/coffee shop near my apartment, I heard the familiar chime of the door
bells, and instantly inhaled the scent of freshly brewed coffee. “Hallelujah”
by Panic! At the Disco quietly echoed from the speakers. I looked around the
shop, seeing the familiar faces: an old couple holding hands and sipping tea, a
few hipsters taking pictures with a polaroid camera, and the bored faces of the
coffee baristas, who probably only took the job because they assumed it would
guarantee free access to the espresso machine. Nonetheless, these people made
the place seem all the more faultless; it gave some diversity to an
already-quirky joint.
In the corner of my eye, I noticed a new
face. A cute face, at that. A cute face paired with brown hair, a pale
complexion, and a lanky body dressed in all black. His hair flopped onto his
forehead in a fringe style, only contributing to the edgy appearance. He was looking
at the back cover of Paper Towns by John Green, which made sense considering
the movie was coming out in a few short weeks. I guess he was one of THOSE
people. I decided to ignore him, though I knew I’d be curious later on about
who he was and how he ended up here. And at that point, it’d be too late to
ask.
I headed towards my reading nook: a cozy
booth towards the back of the seating area of the coffee shop. It was the only
place I could find to have peace and quiet to myself. The seat’s leather exterior
was chipping away from wear-and-tear over the years, and was probably catalyzed
by restless kids who couldn’t help but pick at it. Even I had caught myself
pulling at the material a few times. It was like a subconscious stress release,
just like the rest of this place.
I pulled out my favorite book of all time,
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, and flipped to where I had left off. It
was the scene where Park was about to hold hands with Eleanor. I remembered
because this was about the 7th time I’ve read E&P. I wasn’t
ready to let go of my two favorite protagonists’ story, given that I hadn’t had
a love story of my own to focus on.
Three chapters later, I heard an
unfamiliar voice with a British affliction say, “Is that Eleanor & Park?” I
looked up to see it was the cute face with the edgy style. I was so taken aback
that I just stared at him for a couple of seconds. “Uh, yeah,” I finally
mustered up. “To be honest, I’ve been dying to read it, just every book store I
come to, it seems to be sold out.” He admitted, chuckling and throwing his
hands up in the air. “You should look harder,” I teased, trying to not be as
standoffish as I was before, “it’s worth the effort.”
“Oh, really,” he said, smiling, “what
makes it so special?”
“I’d give you the full synopsis, but we’d
be here for quite a while.” I said. “I’ve got time,” he said. I shrugged. “Be
my guest,” I said, gesturing towards the empty booth seat across from me. “And
does my guest have a name?”
“Dan,” he laughed, extending his hand to
shake mine. I obliged, shaking his hand. “Hi, Dan, I’m (Y/N).”
Maybe having company wouldn’t be so bad
after all.
A long while later, I had filled him in on
almost every plot point there was to know before reading E&P. Everything
except for the spoilers. “C’mon,” Dan had begged, “I’ll probably just end up
looking it up on Wikipedia anyways.”
“I’d never be that cruel to you, Dan,” I
feigned, “withholding the pleasure of experiencing Eleanor & Park in its
primary form? That would be the worst thing I could do. Which is exactly why
you can’t do that to yourself, as well. Trust me: reading it without any
foreknowledge is SO worth it.”
“Well how can I even read it if I don’t
have a copy?” he asked.
“Borrow mine,” I offered. His playfulness
disappeared into seriousness. “Really? You’d let me?” he asked. “Yes, but heed
my warning: guard this book WITH YOUR LIFE. This is my only copy, and this book
means more to me than anything. I’m prepared with warfare if my book is
harmed.” I cautioned.
“Alright, cross my heart,” he said,
crossing an X over his chest with his finger. “Maybe you should give me your
number. Y’know, just for insurance reasons in case something happens to the
book.” He suggested flirtily. I felt my face go hot, and I accidentally let a
giggle slip out of my mouth. Composing myself, I nodded. “That sounds very
plausible.” I reached for him, and scribbled my number onto the back of his
hand with a pen.
“Call me if there are any casualties,” I
said with a wink. He grinned.
Funny how a cute face could walk away with
my favorite book and my number within moments of just meeting.
(Dan’s POV)
The first thing I noticed when she walked
into Chester’s Books was how serene she looked upon entering. I could almost
see the stress melt off her face. Her beautiful face. The face that I wanted to
know. I caught myself staring the minute before I felt her eyes on me, so I
shifted my gaze to a book on the display table in front of me. Paper Towns by
John Green. Sounded dumb.
Before she had the chance to disappear
into the seating area, I got a glimpse of the book she was holding in her hand.
The exact book I was looking for. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell. I had to
drive 45 minutes out of my way to come to this tiny book store, and she managed
to have the only copy in this entire place. I owe it to her, though. It was the
perfect conversation starter.
As I drove home from Chester’s Books, I
couldn’t help but think how lucky I had been to wind up in the same place at
the same time as (Y/N). It’s not an everyday occasion to score a number from a
beautiful, intelligent girl, and even better, I could finally indulge in
reading E&P. The moment I looked forward to the most was calling her once I
finished.
2 days later, with no connection to the
outside world, I turned the final page of Eleanor & Park. I felt empty.
Gutted. Demolished. How could it end with a cliffhanger? WHAT DID I DO TO
DESERVE THIS?
I picked up my phone immediately, and
scrolled down to (Y/N)’s contact name, which I had entered on the way home
after meeting her. I clicked on the Call button, and felt a flurry of
butterflies erupt in my stomach. I hoped she would answer, but I expected she
wouldn’t. She probably didn’t even like me. I mean, I guess she must’ve liked
me a little to give me her favorite book. If she liked me half as much as I
liked her, I shouldn’t have had a doubt in my mind that she’d answer.
“Hello?” I heard a tired voice echo
through the phone.
Oh, my God, I didn’t even check the time.
I glanced at my alarm clock across the room. 12:47 am.
“Hey, I’m so sorry I woke you, I just
finished Eleanor & Park, I didn’t even think to check the time. Go back to
sleep.” I said solemnly.
“No, it’s fine! Tell me what you thought
of it!” I heard (Y/N) say, perking up almost instantly despite being asleep
seconds ago. “Well, actually, I have too many thoughts and feelings to fit into
a phone call, so I was going to ask you if you wanted to meet up at Chester’s
tomorrow…” I trailed off, hoping she’d say yes.
“Yeah, I’d love to! How about 12:00? NOT
midnight, just for your information.” She teased. I wondered how she could
manage to use her quick wit in her tired state. She was incredible. “Alright, I
promise,” I said, laughing into the phone speaker, “goodnight, (Y/N).”
“Goodnight, Dan.” After that, I heard the
click signaling the end of the call. I placed her book carefully into the shelf
of my bedside table, as I had the previous two nights, guarding it just in
case.
I woke up at 11 am that morning. I took a
quick shower, slid on my usual black attire, grabbed (Y/N)’s book, and bolted
out the door to my car. I looked at the clock on the dash. 11:25 am. Being late
was not the impression I was aiming to make.
Jogging into the entrance, I headed
towards the booth (Y/N) and I had sat in the other day. She was sitting there
with a cup of black coffee in her hand, looking as calm and stunning as I had
recalled. I slid into the booth seat, and her face lit up with a smile. That
goddamn smile has surely broken hearts before.
“You’re late! And to think I blow-dried my
hair for you.” (Y/N) jokingly said while fluffing up her hair. “For what it’s
worth, it looks great,” I remarked. I pulled her book out from my lap, and slid
it on the table over to her. She smiled harder, which I hadn’t thought was
possible. She flipped through the pages carefully, inspecting each and every
corner. “Huh, no rips or tears. You’re a man of your word.” Satisfied, she set
the book between us. “Okay, enough small talk,” she said, “tell me what you
thought of the book, from beginning to end.”
We ended up discussing the book for almost
5 hours. Let me rephrase that: we went back and forth, exchanging witty
comments and plenty of laughs, listening to each other intently when making a
profound revelation about the book, for almost 5 hours. Conversations like
these deserved to be put in a metaphorical Hall of Fame for the best human
interactions. THAT’S how amazing it was.
(Y/N) checked the watch on her wrist.
“Woah, time really does fly by when you’re having fun.” She stated, seemingly
surprised at how much time has passed. “My thoughts exactly,” I agreed, “Do you
have to go?”
“I’m afraid I do,” she gloomily said. “I
had an amazing time, though. I mean it when I say we have to do this another
time soon.” My heart fluttered. Maybe she wanted to see me as much as I wanted
to see her. I already missed her, even before she left. “Okay, let me walk you
out,” I proposed. She smiled and nodded.
I held the door open for her, and as she
stepped out, I knew I had to take advantage of this moment. Who knew when there
would be another chance?
“Hold on, (Y/N),” I said, stopping her in
the middle of the street, “I want to try something.” She turned to me, arms
crossed, eyebrows furrowed together, appearing to be confused. I ignored it,
and delicately cupped her face with my hands. I leaned in slowly, and when I could
just barely feel her lips on mine, I looked into her eyes and whispered, “Follow
me down this rabbit hole,” quoting Eleanor and Park’s iconic kissing scene.
I finally placed my lips on hers. I felt
her arms uncross from over her chest, her hands slowly creeping up and settling
on my sides. Our heads moved in sync, giving and receiving interchangeably. I
pulled away begrudgingly, needing to catch a breath. I opened my eyes, and I
could see hers were still closed for a couple seconds longer. When she did open
her eyes, she broke out into another one of her dazzling smiles.
(Reader’s POV)
I was right. Company wasn’t so bad after
all. In fact, it was the best goddamn thing in the world to have company make me feel like a protagonist. Maybe this would be the
beginning of my love story.